Signature capture devices are used to handle various aspects of delivery or receipt of items and services. For example, a signature capture/display device maybe located at a retail or public counter where a customer requests and receives an ordered item. The signature capture system may include a signature capture touch screen for receiving a signature using a stylus or special pen. The touch screen may also provide a series of touch screen buttons, display a series of screens, and accept a series of user inputs, e.g., to acknowledge receipt of an item or information concerning the item.
Embodiments of the invention provide further functionality to a management system that processes ordered items using a signature capture device, by identifying a targeted message for display on the signature capture device. Such targeted messages introduce technical issues relating to the privacy of the message, such as the information that is displayed in the message or that is received from a customer in response to the message. Privacy may be a significant issue not only for the customer (e.g., access to personal information by others), but also an issue for the system managing the ordered item, where information used and collected in response to a targeted message adds responsibility and system complexity in securing any personal or private information. As an example, where the ordered item is a prescription being picked up at a pharmacy, if a customer leaves the counter without responding to a displayed message, the message (and any information relating to the customer prescription) may still be displayed and seen when the next customer approaches the counter. As a further example, if a customer provides a response to a targeted message, the nature of that response may reveal information about the customer or about the item received. In the case of a prescription, the response may reveal information about a particular disease or condition of the customer that is being treated, and may be subject to privacy/security requirements for receiving and storing such information within the pharmacy system. While receiving and using personal information is often an inherent part of interaction with customers in many environments, such as in pharmacy systems and operations, each incremental increase in the receipt or use of personal information correspondingly increases system cost, risk and complexity in preserving information security and privacy. Embodiments of the invention address issues relating to the privacy of customer information, by reducing or managing the amount of personal information that is used at a signature capture device, or that is stored in an associated system as a result of using a signature capture device.